Chapter 11 #2
Ridiculous. Nonetheless, relief loosened her shoulders. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she had possibilities before her.
Change.
Still, grief struck her heart. She’d never get her family or old life back. Gone was the innocent girl who lived for dancing, cooking with her mother, and playing in the backyard with her brother and father.
But she had something.
Even if that something came in the shape of a six-foot-four frenemy.
***
He had to be out of his goddamn mind.
Making a deal with the woman who had his balls in a bunch and who’d tried to kill him in his sleep two nights ago.
The guys were gonna have a field day with this.
Ghost blew out a breath as he rinsed the last dish and stuck it in the dishwasher. At least she’d agreed to give up her handler. He knew from experience that this wasn’t an easy thing to do. She couldn’t return to her old job after such a violation.
The floor overhead creaked and a minute later her footsteps sounded on the stairs. She entered the room wearing the same sweatpants but with one of his hoodies he’d offered. She’d freshened up. Her hair still hung loosely around her shoulders, but it no longer held knots.
She’d used his brush.
The idea of her scent on his things, of his belongings on her hair and body, made his cock stiffen.
“Ready?” he asked, drying his hands on a dishtowel. After breakfast, he’d promised to drive her into town so she could get clothes that fit and whatever else she needed.
She nodded, her fingers knotting at her middle. Huh. Shy? Interesting. He’d witnessed several sides of the little spitfire who’d just about made him swallow his teeth with a roundhouse kick.
He wasn’t stupid. She was capable as hell and neither of them would forget it. But he had to admit there was more to Mila. She was softer than he’d realized.
“Everything okay?” he pressed.
She rocked onto the outsides of her feet. “Yeah. Fine. It’s just... what if I can’t get my handler—Neo—to cooperate? And how long do I have to stay after you get the information you want?”
He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter near the sink.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t want to hold you here against your will any longer than necessary, but I need answers.
Let’s just hope you can speak to your friend when we get back.
If all goes well and I get a name, I’ll drive you home this afternoon. ”
He waited for her face to light up. He hadn’t thought she’d jump up and down, but he’d expected some kind of indication that this was the outcome she wanted.
“Okay.”
“Okay? Don’t tell me you want to stay here with me.”
She let out a nervous laugh. “Uh, no. I want to go home, it’s just...” She shrugged and a pink tint colored her cheeks. “I guess it all becomes real then. I have to sink or swim.”
Understanding spread through him. “You won’t be able to return to what you know, is that it?”
She didn’t nod but her eyes dropped.
He stepped forward, cupping her elbows in his hands. She tilted her head back, her eyes wide, but she didn’t move away. And Christ, he didn’t want her to.
“Look, Mila. I don’t know shit about you. But I can tell you this—you’re pretty damn tough. I think you’ll do fine.”
Her lips quirked. “That’s quite the pep talk.”
“Stick around, there’s more where that came from.”
She chuckled.
He forced his fingers to slide from her arms. “Let’s go. I want to get back and make that call.”
She nodded, and he led her to the front entrance. He snagged the keys from the hook, opened the door, and froze. “Shit. You don’t have shoes.”
Her lips made an O shape. “I’m sure I would’ve realized that in about five seconds.” She backed up. “If you want to go without me and just get—”
He bent and scooped her into his arms. She yelped as he swung her against his chest, cradling her as he’d done after she’d rolled down the hill the previous day.
“Wait. No, I can walk.”
He held her with one arm as he locked the door. He headed toward the garage on the path he’d carved in the white monstrosity covering the ground. “I know you’ve got a liking for frozen extremities, but I don’t have time to deal with frostbite. I’d have to cut your toes off after all.”
She smacked his chest. “That’s not funny.”
He snickered.
Her eyes, twin flames of seduction, bore into him. But playfulness glistened in the pretty blues. “You’d better be careful, Mr. Troy. I don’t need potassium chloride to finish you off.”
This time he laughed loudly. “First of all, you can come at me anytime, woman. I could take you out blindfolded.”
All right, so she’d put up a good fight the other night. Didn’t change the fact that if she were a man, they wouldn’t be having this conversation because she wouldn’t be alive.
He opened the man door to the garage, where his truck waited. He unlocked it with her still in his arms and opened the passenger door, lowering her onto the seat.
“Sure,” she said. “And what’s second?”
He rested his arm on the edge of the door. “Second, don’t call me Mr. Troy. That man was a piece of shit.”
He didn’t want to think about that bastard. It was one of the main reasons he chose not to carry the name Troy. He shut the door as his amusement leaked from him like air out of a tire.
Still, he wouldn’t mind if she tried to take him. And damn if he didn’t stop the direction of his thoughts when the image of her naked and on top of him gave him a rush of primal need.
Christ, he needed this woman off his mind and out of reach before he did something he’d regret.